Kaiba and The origin of the Black Rose
by wujuciezki
Summary: Akiza Izinski and Thomas Kaiba are going to the Duel Academy at the very same time. Soon they will experience a strong bond between them as both have only each other, being despised by other students. Akiza for her psychic powers and Thomas for being Seto Kaiba's foster son. And together they will be forced to face one of the greatest shadow games in their life.
1. First day at the Duel Academy

Thomas Kaiba. Steo Kaiba's foster son. Tall, well-build with muscled body, short dark hair and cold, cobalt eyes looking from behind rectangular glasses. He was taking his exams at the duel Academy. That wasn't his idea. He was good duelist, however Seto had other conception.

"For now I learned one thing, and one thing only" said Thomas to his foster father "You are an old goat, who cannot be satisfied even with perfection"

"You are far from being perfect. Especially when it comes down to duel monsters. You can hardly keep up with me. And I did my best to train you" Seto Kaiba sighed. He was old. Too old for this. And Thomas was the only person he encountered, who could be up to challenge. After all Kaiba was the only one left...

"Therefore you want me to attend to your Duel Academy, so I can become better duelist?" Thomas shook his head "Why this card game is so important. I can hardly believe in all the stuff you've been telling about shadow games, however even according to your stories that's in the past. And your company needs more than just duelists" muttered Thomas "Why is it so important?"

"I don't have to explain anything to you" barked Kaiba "I'm in charge. You follow orders. Simple as that" Kaiba sighed one more time "I will explain things to you when the time comes, for now play along"

"Fine!" muttered Thomas "I'll do it. But from my point of view it's a waste of time"

"Perhaps it is" replied Seto Kaiba "Perhaps it's not"

* * *

Meanwhile Akiza Izinski was thinking about the duel academy. She also didn't want to be a student. The truth was her parents wanted to get rid of her, because they were afraid of her psychic powers. On the other hand dueling was the only thing she ever enjoyed. The only thing left for her to do since she had no friends and her own family considered her as a monster. Duel academy was both prison and only chance to find happiness.

* * *

The day of exams. Thomas already passed the writing exam with flawless score. He could see jealousy in eyes of others. 'Kaiba's foster son obviously wasn't welcome here'. There was only one thing left. Duel.

"Welcome lad" said his opponent "I'm headmistress of the Obelisk Dorm, Alexis Rhodes I'm and your examiner. Are you ready to duel?"

"Yeah, whatever" muttered Thomas. He already started with the lack of respect for his oponent. Miss Alexis Drew her cards

"Ok kid. I summon cyber Tutu in attack mode. Your call" said Alexis Rhodes

"Fine then" said Thomas drawing his cards. Oh damn it! Not a single monster "I play two cards face-down and that's that"

"That's all kid?" said Alexis "Haven't you even drew a monster?"

"Perhaps. It's your move" replied Thomas with poker face

"Fine then. I summon Blade skater" replied Alexis "Now attack him directly"

Thomas sighed "I play trap Life-force. Now By sacrificing 400 of my life points I can negate any damage. It's going to be only 800 points this turn"

"Not bad Kid" admitted Alexis "I end my turn"

"Now my turn" he drew a card and muttered with disappointment "Two cards face-down and end my turn"

"Really?" said Alexis sarcastically "Then it's my move I draw. Now I summon Etoile cyber. Now attack him directly"

Once again Thomas took damage. And once again he remained cold. Alexis ended her turn by playing a face-down.

"If that's all you're going to do then allow me" as he drew a card "I skip my turn" said Thomas.

"You don't even try" said Alexis with disappointment "And I thought you were the best" She drew a card. I activate my polymerization to merge Cyber Skater and Etoile Cyber into Cyber Bladder. Now I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your life force. Now Cyber Bladder, attack!

"I plat Drain Shield. All damage will be added to my life points instead" said Thomas with calm look in his eye

"Then I play de-fusion" replied Alexis "Now Cyber Bladder become Blade Skater and Etoile Cyber again. Now I attack you directly with Cyber Tutu"

3100 points left.

"Now Blade skater, attack!"

1700 points left. And Thomas knew it was enough to wipe him out. Etoile Cyber special ability meant that her attack points were raised by 500 during damage calculation when attacking directly.

"Etoile Cyber, attack him directly" said Alexis

"I play my Spell Shrink" grinned Thomas "Your Danceress loses some points. Half of them to be exact"

"But she doesn't lose her special ability, as I'm sure you are familiar with. When she attacks you directly she deals additional 500 points of damage"

600 points. More than enough to win this.

"Anything else?" asked Thomas

"That's it kid. Make your move and make it count" Alexis seemed confident. To bad for her

"Stand back girl and watch how it's done" Thomas drew a card "Now then, since I finally drew a monster I think I will summon it to the field. I Summon unhappy Maiden" after a brief pause he added "In attack mode. Then I play my trap. Torrential Tribute. With it I can destroy every monster on the field"

Alexis eyes widened as all her monsters were vanished.

"I'm not done" Said Thomas "Next I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Maiden. In attack mode of course"

"You made a rookie mistake" said Alexis with a smile on her face "With this card you can bring back any monster from the grave. You should have picked one of mine instead. One that will deal some damage that is"

"I'm not done" said Thomas "I play Scapegoats to summon four lamb tokens on the field. Now I play my card of Sanctity. We both draw until we hold sic cards"

Thomas drew his cards. There it is. He grinned.

"You wonder why I filled my field with tokens and played my Maiden in attack mode? Here is the answer. My United we Stay equip spell. With it my maiden gains additional 800 points for any monster on the field. That would be 4000. Enough to wipe out your points. Open wide and suck on this attack!"

Alexies yelped as all her life points vanished after being struck by Unhappy Maiden's attack.

A huge explosion of applause occurred as Thomas raised his clenched fist and shouted: "**LIKE A BOSS**!" Entire duel he was simply setting up a trap to win in one turn. That was impressive.

"Well played" said Alexis "Admirably well played. Allow me to be the first one to welcome you in the duel academy"

"Thank you miss Rhodes" replied Thomas "That's game"

That phrase was way too familiar...


	2. Akiza's powers revealed!

This was her first day at the Duel Academy. Akiza passed all her writing exams scoring an A. For that reason she was allowed to join the Slifer Red Dorm without dueling her way in, however she knew that her affliction was well-known to the tutors of the Academy and would risk it in the duel with her. That was depressing. Especially with all the students who obviously enjoyed gossiping behind her back. Most of students were unfriendly at the very least. Most of them believed that she was accepted without dueling exam because she was senator's daughter. And she didn't feel good with this. That's why on her first day she challenged one of the best Obelisk Blue students.

"You want to duel me, a Slifer?" asked Koda with sarcasm in his voice "I'm one of the best students at the academy. And I will go pro in next few weeks"

"Which is exactly why I want to duel you" replied Akiza "Unless you're afraid you will lose to a girl. A Silfer Red girl" Akiza was teasing Koda. And no wonders he accepted challenge.

"Have you heard? Koda is dueling a Slifer girl" This message was all the students needed to visit dueling arena. Thomas, wearing his Ra Yellow uniform, decided to watch the duel himself. It was a short one. As soon as Thomas entered the arena he saw a flash of light and explosion. Koda was thrown away and his cards were scattered all over the place. Most of them torn apart or blazing with fire. Most of students rushed towards the exit in panic, bumping into Thomas as he was moving forward.

As he came close the girl looked at him. Her eyes were wide, filled with fear and despair…

* * *

Akiza watched as all the students ran away from her in panic as her psychic powers knocked down Koda. She couldn't believe it. She wanted to prove that she earned her place in Academy. And then this… Her powers destroyed it all. Now she wasn't senator's daughter. She was a monster. Then she saw him. Alone student in Ra Yellow uniform standing still near the arena. She caught an eye contact with him and immediately regretted it. His cobalt eyes were like a deep cold pit. Emotionless, cold, calm… He was the only one left in the duel arena. Standing still and just watching her, analyzing her…

Akiza found him disturbing. He approached Koda.

"Snap out of this" muttered Ra, grabbing Koda's arm and shaking "It's over"

Koda, like most of the students, rushed towards the exit ignoring his wounds.

"That was fast" said Ra. Then again he focused his attention on Akiza.

Real damage. Like one of those shadow games father spoke of, however the girl obviously wasn't in control of it. Scared like anyone else. That was… intriguing.

Akiza managed to make the first move:

"Who are you?" she asked anxiously

"I could ask you the very same thing" he sighed "My name is Thomas. A Ra Yellow student, as you can probably see. What's your story, Slifer?"

"That's none of you business" replied Akiza

"That was rude" said Thomas with a nasty smile "But have it your way, little girl"

He turned round and left. Akiza sighed with relief. For some reason that guy was scary. That emotionless, cold way he looked at her... and something else in his eyes.

* * *

Thomas was deep in thought. Who was this girl? Obviously that was no shadow duel. On the other hand that Obelisk ended up in hospital bed with shock and with his cards destroyed. Psychic duelist was the only explanation. And why did he care about it at all? Was there something familiar in her eyes? This anger mixed with despair and pain? Those eyes were the same as his once he was an orphan. He decided to gather some more information about her. She was… intriguing. And Thomas had a feeling that she could be an important plot-twist during his visit at the Academy. This girl had some illusive thing about her. Thomas couldn't even name it and that was more than enough to drag his attention.

* * *

"Just who was this guy?" Akiza wondered aloud sitting in her dorm room.

She was hoping that by dueling she could prove, that she belonged in the Academy. She hoped, that she could stop all the gossips about her, but her powers were beyond her control. And in ended up like it ended up. All the students were now terrified of her. She could see as they ran away from her as if she was some sort of abomination, however he didn't ran. Akiza couldn't say whether Thomas was curious or reckless, however he wasn't afraid of her at all. But it didn't comfort Akiza. There was something in his eyes. Behind this cold, emotionless layer there was something else. Something familiar. And something scary.


	3. Thomas Kaiba and Jake Princeton

Thomas was already late for the class. He couldn't care less about it, but a class is a class. He entered an auditorium and swept the place looking for a free chair. Since he didn't liked to socialize with others (especially since they were talking about him behind his back) he was looking for a desolated place.

"Bingo" whispered Thomas as he saw a bunch of free seats. He took one of them and then he realized why this place was abandoned by other students. Their eyes connected.

Akiza's eyes widened. She could swear she saw him surprised and disturbed, when they looked each other in the eye. At least for a brief moment. If she happened to blink at that point she would have missed it, but she didn't. But then any possible emotional expressions were off-mode. Thomas regained his cold appearance.

"Hi there" said Thomas. Now he could see her up close. She had fair skin, hazel eyes and dark, chin-length burgundy hair with elbow-length bangs that framed both sides of her face. The middle bangs were rolled around something similar to a hair curler. Her magenta uniform flared behind her. She also had short dark skirt and stockings that made her figure… visible. Typical girl uniform made her look very attractive. Thomas tried not to think about it.

"What are you doing here, Kaiba?" replied Akiza. She knew his full name. Then she had to do some researching on him… or he is famous.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm one of the students" said Thomas "And I'm here because I have a class. Present!" Last word was addressed to the tutor, who recited Thomas' name from the list.

"I know" muttered Akiza "I'm asking why are you bugging me?"

"Because other seats are taken" said Thomas putting his glasses on "Deal with it Izinski!"

He knew her name! Did he checked who was she or simply her reputation as chaos-wrecking witch was well-known all over the Academy?

They both didn't talk to each other for the rest of the class.

At the end of the class Thomas simply gathered his stuff and moved towards the exit. Akiza didn't want to be near him so she waited until his figure disappeared. Then she moved towards the exit. As she was about to leave the auditorium she heard voice:

"So. I see you decided to pair up with the witch. She suits you well, Kaiba" said someone with annoying arrogant voice.

"Princeton" that cold voice belonged to Kaiba "Who would have thought that I will meet you here? Did you finally decided to slither out of the hole? Or you're simply lost?" Thomas and Princeton obviously didn't like each other.

"You're here Kaiba because you're foster son of the owner and nothing more" hissed Princeton "So you and this wretched witch are a perfect pair of losers who are not welcome here"

"My, my" replied Thomas "I must say that I would gladly crush you, but you're just too low for me to do that"

"You arrogant punk" shouted Princeton "I'm one of the top duelist in the school. An Obelisk!"

"Yeah. I know. If I recall correctly Koda was above you. And he was schooled by this Silfer girl you spoke of. I wonder what could do a Ra Yellow with an average Obelisk like you" there was a threat in the air. Akiza was listening to it holding her breath.

Obviously both had some grudge then Princeton noticed Akiza.

"Well. If it isn't the witch?" mocked her "How does it feel to be an outcast?"

Akiza wasn't able to say a word she simply opened her mouth trying to say something. In this moment Thomas said:

"We don't know. Tell us Jake. How does it feel to be an outcast?" Thomas smiled "You obviously are one. Black sheep of your family…"

"Shut up" yelled Princeton "Quick to defend this… monster, are you?"

Akiza felt her anger burning up.

"It's more like he's defending you. If you don't want to share your friend's fate, better watch what you're saying" said Akiza with a glow in her eyes.

Jake Princeton suddenly paled and turned around saying:

"I didn't expect anything else from the likes of you".

Akiza clenched her fists watching as he was leaving. Then she looked at Thomas.

"What? I have something in my eye" said Akiza wiping tear.

"Nothing" replied Thomas "I'm not saying anything"

"Just leave me alone" snorted Akiza going away covering her face with her hand.

Thomas sighed. He looked through his deck and nodded. Everything in place.

"Princeton!" he yelled "I have a rich punk to humiliate in a duel!" That was loud enough to draw attention. He couldn't refuse. Not to a Ra Yellow.

* * *

Akiza was walking through the corridor wiping unwanted tears from her eyes. A monster. That's how he called her. And she knew there were others who would gladly follow his example. Then she noticed two students running in other direction. She overheard:

"Kaiba is dueling Princeton". Those words dragged her attention. She decided to go see the duel herself.

"I told you Princeton that we're dueling for real. And you don't even try to scratch me" Thomas had almost 10000 life points while Princeton had mere 1500.

"Are you letting me win, or you just suck at this game?" mocked Thomas.

He smiled as Prinecton's armed dragon lv. 10 destroyed all his monsters. Still he couldn't do any damage. Not with his traps in play.

"I end my turn" muttered Jake

"Giving up already?" said Thomas with disappointment. "I play my trap Call of the Haunted to resurrect my masked knight lv.5. And now it's my turn. At this point my knight evolves to level 7, and deals you 1500 points of direct damage. Suck on his special ability you loser!"

Thomas won. Akiza watched just the ending of the duel, but she was wondering how could he achieve so many life points.

"Like a BOSS!" said Thomas with his fist raised

"Lucky punk" hissed Princeton

"Perhaps" replied Thomas "But luck favors those who are skilled and trained. Which essentially means that you are meant to be unlucky, as long as your mouth is bigger than your deck"

Then he noticed Akiza behind the crowd of student cheering him. And he smiled to her. For a brief moment. A second. But he smiled to her. And for some reason she felt a twister in her stomach when she saw a warm glow in his eyes for the first time…


	4. Facing each other

Things haven't changed much between Akiza and Thomas since he moped The floor with Princeton's reputation, however from time to time they were looking at each other. And to be blunt they didn't really give any attention to the other students. At least for the time being…

Thomas wasn't really liked in school. Despite his grades and skills he was still despised by a whole lot of students, who couldn't bear the thought that he is at the Duel Academy because he is one of the best duelist. Most of them wanted to believe that his place at ate Academy was simply granted by Seto Kaiba. Thomas couldn't care less about this which only infuriated others. And then there was Akiza.

Thomas might have been cold-hearted bastard who didn't give a fuck about other, but Akiza wasn't like him. She cared about it. And all the time students and even tutors were treating her like a leper. And since she had excellent results during most of the exams, others had another reason to hate her. And at some point this made Akiza to lost her temper…

"I've heard what you said. Care to say it in my face?" shouted Akiza

"Stay back" said student in blue uniform "I don't want to have anything to do with you"

A terrifying grin appeared on her face as she drew her cards

"You should have thought of that sooner. I summon my Black Rose Dragon!"

Akiza smile grew wider as she saw him covering in fear. Then he heard that voice…

"Stop Akiza!"

It was Thomas

"Bugger of, Kaiba! This wimp insulted me for the last time!" Akiza wanted to even the score, she looked at the Obelisk and Kaiba appeared in front of her.

"Let me guess. A wile witch. Is that what he called you behind your back? You do realize that acting like one won't help your cause?" She pushed him aside.

"I don't care about it anymore" shouted Akiza "I won't tolerate this. If they're calling me a monster I will show them how a true monster is acting. Starting with him" Akiza's eyes were burning with rage.

"If you want to prove their point so badly, then I have an offer for you" Thomas showed her his duel-disc "You and I are going to duel. Should you lose, you will take a chill pill"

"And what if I win?" replied Akiza with a nasty smile.

"I will probably end up in a hospital or worse" muttered Thomas with his usual emotion-off mode activated "Get real Slifer sucker. You are outmatched" Thomas started with the trash talk. A fatal mistake while talking to the angered girl. And he knew it.

"Let's take it outside" said Thomas seeing her rage "I don't want to humiliate you like I did with Jerk Princeton.

"I will grant you your last wish" replied Akiza with a grim smile. "You can choose a place for your funeral".

"You're too kind" teased her Thomas "Don't mind if I do. I always liked the lighthouse here"

"Then lead the way" replied Akiza

Then as she moved towards exit Thomas said to the Obelisk:

"You owe my big time. Now scram!"

* * *

As she reached the lighthouse Akiza had to admit that this place had something in it. The sunset was beautiful as the light glittered around sea waves. She could smell the breeze…

"Ready when you are" said Thomas tearing her away from her thoughts.

"Fine" hissed Akiza "Let's do this"

"You mean duel, right?" Thomas smiled "Ok. Let's rock!"


	5. Traps and Thorns

"Let's duel" said both of them. Akiza drew a card "I hope you don't mind, ladies first, jerks second". She examined her cards carefully. This would put him out for good "I activate field spell Black garden. With its power whenever monster is summoned it's attack points are halved. Moreover opposite player gets a rose token. Next I summon wall of Ivy in defense mode. I think I will end my turn".

"Then it's time for me to take the field" replied Thomas calmly, drawing a card from his deck. He stared into his hand for a moment "Oh well. I place four cards face down, next I activate spell from my hand - Card of Sanctity, which allows us to draw until we hold six cards" he examined new cards and sighed "And that ends my turn"

"that's your move?" asked Akiza "Didn't you even drew a monster from your deck?" her voice was filled with sarcasm. Thomas ignored it.

"Perhaps I didn't" he replied showing his cold attitude she saw once he dueled. "your turn my dear" So full of himself, so cocky. She just had to make him squirm. She drew a card feeling her anger got the best of her.

"I draw and summon Phoenixian Seed to my field. Next I use it's special ability to summon Cluster Amaryllis"

"Yeah, yeah" replied Thomas "I get to summon two rose tokens and your monster attack is halved. Why didn't I saw that coming?" Once again his voice was filled with mockery. And Akiza didn't like to be mocked. "Attack rose token Amaryllis!"

"And there goes my trap" said Thomas activating one of his face-downs "Gravity bind forbids any monster that is level 4 or higher from attacking. So sorry, your card is useless"

"For now" said Akiza with anger in her eyes. She wanted to hurt him right now so badly... "I will end my turn with a face down..."

"Before you do that I will activate my face downs: Solemn Wishes, Ultimate Offering and DNA surgery. Now thanks to my DNA surgery I change type of every monster on the field. And I choose warrior type. If you plan to use rose tokens to deal me some damage with your traps, think again. Those are no longer plant type". That look on her face... she gave him a look that clearly said: 'are you kidding me?'. He dismantled one of her strategies already. "Next it's my turn and I draw. Whenever I draw a card, Solemn wishes effect activates increasing my life points by grant of 500. Furthermore I reveal two cards in my hand - the Golden Ladybugs. When I reveal those cards I'm given another 500 life point from each. Now I summon kinetic Soldier from my hand and thanks to Ultimate Offering, by offering 500 of my life points I can summon again, and again it's kinetic Soldier. Now two rose token shall make their big entrance on your side of the field."

Akiza laughed out loud "You have 5000 life points, which is impressive, but those two useless monsters are joke. Not to mention my Black Garden will drain their attack power"

And so it did. Thomas' kinetic soldiers had 675 attack points now. Akiza grinned. feeling in control. That's why It was a surprise when Thomas declared an attack.

"Kinetic soldier, attack her rose token" said Thomas with a blink in his eye.

"You lost it Kaiba! Even my tokens are stronger than your soldiers now". And again he remained so calm...

"Did I mention kinetic Soldier Special Ability? When this card faces a warrior-type monster he gains additional 2000 attack points. And you remember my DNA surgery, right?"

He was right! Now Kinetic Soldiers' power was 2675 attack points. And her rose token had 800...

Akiza yelped as she was struck by 3750 points of damage. Fortunately it was only a hologram.

"So you do flick with your eyelashes" said Thomas with enthusiasm "We have to do it more often". He obviously tried to get under her skin. "And it's your move. Make it count".

"I draw" cried Akiza. And she drew exactly what she needed "I summon rose knight, next I tune my rose knight with my wall of ivy and rose tokens to summon Black Rose Dragon". Despite her most powerful card making her appearance Thomas didn't even blink. But it was just a matter of time.

"I activate my spell card. Bloom of Life! It prevents any card on my side of the field from being destroyed. Next I activate Black Rose dragon special Ability! Now all cards on your side of the field are destroyed!".

As the Akiza's dragon roared all the cards on Thomas' side of the field were wiped out. He smiled and said "Touché".

"Let's see if you can keep this image of yours when i attack you directly" Replied Akiza "Amaryllis, attack him!"

As the overgrown plant made her strike Thomas felt it. He felt real tentacles striking his chest with it's thorns giving him nasty scratches. "Now whenever my

Amaryllis attacks, it's destroyed and you are given big bad 800 points of damage" And again a blizzard of razor-sharp thorns surrounded Thomas "I'm not done with you yet" yelled Akiza "black Rose Dragon, Attack him directly!" And again Thomas felt overwhelming pain as the Dragon covered him with violet flames. Akiza grinned seeing this. He asked for it.

"That smile of yours, Why?" asked Thomas as flames disappeared.

"Why what?" said Akiza with some satisfaction seeing her opponent one step away from certain defeat.

"Do you enjoy seeing others in pain?" continued Thomas "seeing them suffer by your hand? Is that really what you want Akiza?" he was holding his chest with one hand, gasping heavily. Her last attack obviously dealt some real damage. Real enough to inflict real injury. As he said those words he could see Akiza's mask of confidence and anger shattered into pieces. For the first time he saw in her eyes guilt.

"What could you know? You don't know a thing about me" yelled Akiza trying to get a hold of herself. "How all the people rejected me..."

"Rejected?!" Thomas interrupted her shouting "What could you possibly know about rejection?"

"How dare you" cried Akiza with tears in her eyes "My own parents sent me away because of my powers"

"So?" Akiza suddenly noticed that Thomas was no longer this confident cold and calm Ra Yellow, she met. Now he was a sad young man. A broken man in fact. His hands were shaking as he said "I don't have a family Akiza. My parents abandoned me because they simply felt like it. They didn't want to have a child so they abandoned it. For no reason. That's how it is. You at least have a family and home. I'm all alone, little girl. From the very beginning"

Akiza's eyes widened as she heard those words. She knew he was Kaiba's adopted son, but this...

Very well Akiza" said Thomas with some confidence "if you're not going to listen to my words, maybe you will listen to my deck. It's my draw!" As he drew a card he realized that the he was holding one of his most violent combos. Well... why not? That could help him reach her. Or fry alive.

"I reveal my two ladybugs to regain 1000 of my life points" Now he had a grant total of 1900. "From my hand I play snatch steal to take control of your Cluster Amaryllis"

"That's your big move?" teased Akiza "My black rose dragon will obliterate it along with rest of your life points"

He could see in her eyes that this threat was for show. She didn't want to do this. She couldn't simply control it. Her powers were above her skills.

"oh well, I activate ritual of the dark illusions. Now by sacrificing your mere monster I can summon my ace card to the field. Let's hear it for the Relinquish, you treated me like a monster, so I will respond with the real one!"

Akiza's eyes widened as the hideous fiend appeared before her. But then she regained her confidence "0 attack points? You're joking".

"I'm dead serious. Which essentially means I'm serious and half dead from your last attack" replied Thomas with a trickster's smile "Relinquish has an ability to absorb any monster that is in face up position and equip it like any equip card. Then Relinquish gains attack and defense points of this monster. Now then, say goodbye to your over-grown lizard. Black Rose Dragon is mine"

Akiza could only watch as her most powerful card was devoured by the fiend. Black Rose Dragon became a part of this monster. She had no cards on her field and none in her hand or graveyards that could help her now.

"Now then, since that's out of way, I will place one card face down and activate mystical space typhoon" said Thomas "since your black rose dragon is now equipped to my monster like I can destroy it with this card"

He took Akiza by surprise. He could have finished her with her own Dragon, but he didn't. What was his game?

"I draw" Akiza was wondering about Thomas weird strategy. His monster had her ace card, Black Rose Dragon. But instead of using her card power to defeat her, he simply decided to destroy it leaving his Relinquish vulnerable. Why would he do that? And what was his face-down card?

"I destroy my black garden along with my rose tokens with heavy storm spell card" Thomas' mysterious face-down card was destroyed leaving him with his powerless Relinquish. Then with Monster Reborn Akiza brought back her Black Rose Dragon. Thomas had no defense, his life points were exposed to a direct hit from her Dragon. And without Black Garden her Dragon had more power than enough to win. "I..." Akiza realized that she had second thoughts. Victory was in

her grasp, but when she looked at him, gasping, suffering with several bleeding wounds, trying all the time to talk to her, in his own unpleasant way... She closed her eyes. "I attack you directly with my Dragon" she whispered "I'm sorry Thomas".

As her dragon was about to lay waste to his life points he sighed "I'm sorry as well. I find no pleasure in this, however you need to know that you can hurt people with your powers" He looked at his duel disc "Forgive me for this. From my grave I activate Dead Man's Trigger. This trap can only be activated when it's in my graveyard and your Dragon just sent it there" Akiza's eyes widened. He knew! He knew she would summon her Dragon and he was ready for this."From my hand I activate Magical Cylinder. This trap reflects your Dragon attack directly to your life points". And then Akiza felt it. Violet flames of her Dragon shrouded her. The pain was unbearable. The pain caused by her own power...

"AKIZA!" yelled Thomas running towards her. SHe felt right into his arms "Are you alright?" asked Thomas. His eyes were now so warm filled with care... And from that point of view she could see how badly wounded he was. His face scratched and bleeding. His clothes torn and covered with blood... And yet his attention was drawn to her. So many emotions at once...

Akiza's eyes filled with tears. She pushed him away and ran.

He was calling her, but she didn't look away. She couldn't face him. She was afraid. Afraid of her powers and afraid of Seto Kiaba's foster son she faced in a duel. She was scared of him, but she couldn't say why. Why was she so afraid of him?


	6. Melting ice LIKE A BOSS!

Next day Akiza didn't appear during any class at the duel academy. She wasn't found in her dorm either. Thomas Kaiba became an object of interest for most of hte student's because of many scratches all over his face. As always he remained impervious to anything with his cold, emotionless look.

He had his own theory. And he decided to check whether he was correct.

Akiza was sitting near the lighthouse watching the sea. Since the last night she couldn't stop thinking about young Kaiba. Why did he approached her? Why obviously she is now more scared of her powers than he was? She was thinking about it all the morning. Amongst all the students he wasn't talking about her behind her back. He stood tall, challenged her to a duel. And won. And in the end it was her own doing that made her lose to him. And why was she afraid of him? Why did she felt so embarrassed when she felt into his arms after he defeated her? Why was she so afraid that she couldn't take the class today? Akiza wiped tears from her eyes.

Suddenly she felt someone's hand on her shoulder.

It was him.

"I had a feeling I would find you here, Akiza" said Thomas.

"You" gasped Akiza "Just leave me alone. I want to be alone" cried Akiza hugging herself. She felt tears in her eyes. And felt even more embarrassed than ever.

"I know you want to be alone right now" replied Thomas softly "that's precisely why I'm bugging you right now"

Akiza forced herself to look him in the eyes. Those cold cobalt eyes that usually were looking down at everyone... were now warm and somehow... trustworthy.

"Why?" asked Akiza trying not to let her tears to be seen.

"Because what we want isn't always good for us, and others" replied Thomas. "I have issues with my foster father and sometimes I want to choke him in his sleep. And that feeling is mutual. As you can see we both are still alive".

Akiza couldn't help but to smile hearing that response.

She didn't even realize when Thomas Kaiba approached her resting his hands on her shoulder.

"Listen Akiza, I know things are really hard with your... talents, but you will only hurt yourself and others if you keep things up like this"

Akiza shook her head "Why are you telling me this, why do you even care?"

"Someone has to" replied Thomas "obviously no one else is going to care" he sighed "Look, you destroyed this guy's deck and you hurt him in the process. So I was intrigued it, but then I see how others treat you, call you a monstrosity, gossip behind your back. I can see you are suffering, which leads you to anger and hatred... and I guess I felt sorry for you" for a moment he didn't know what to say "you know... when I was an orphan I felt similar way. Why was I abandoned? What have I done to deserve this? And guess, what did I realize?"

"No idea" replied Akiza. She couldn't now resist to listen to him.

"I did nothing wrong" replied Kaiba "I was abandoned because my parents didn't want me. Just as you are hated because people are afraid of your powers, however that's not an excuse to use your powers in order to hurt others. This way you will only prove their point" he sighed "I don't want you to hurt others and I don't want you to hurt yourself Akiza. Easy as that"

Akiza couldn't just take it anymore. Her eyes were glittering from tears before, but she couldn't help it anymore. She was crying. Thomas gently hugged her as she hid her face in his chest.

"It's okay Akiza" said Thomas "it's okay"

It would seem that Akiza Izinski found a friend who obviously didn't consider her as a monster.

"But you know" said Thomas "I totally won that duel"

Akiza snickered. He had some emotions inside after all.


	7. Hope for a better day

It simply happened. Thomas Kaiba and Akiza Izinski became friends. Since they weren't liked by the rest of the students they teaming up seemed to be a wise idea. Nobody was dumb enough to mess with psychic duelist and owner's son at the same time. Of course most of students liked to spread fake gossips about both Akiza and Thomas, but Akiza, taking Kaiba's example, managed to ignore them.

* * *

"Come in Akiza" Thomas unlocked the door to his dorm room and invited Akiza inside. First thing Akiza noticed was a huge board on the wall with notes connected to each other by various threads. It looked like a spider web, made by a spider with huge amount of time. Akiza took a closer look. Paper notes were actually an image of various cards with description. Threads were connection such card with a counter card, or card that could create a combination. She focused her attention on one card and then followed threads trying to understand combination. Few seconds later she felt dizzy.

"It's just a little sketch on a new deck I've been working on" Thomas sighed "Not yet ready, but with some adjustments I know I can make it work. My current deck is insufficient"

"Your deck is insufficient" said Akiza "You've beaten me in a duel. With a handicap" she smiled "Your deck is fine"

"You flutter me Akiza" replied Thomas. She could have sworn that his face wasn't as pale as usual. Was he blushing by any chance? Akiza swiped the rest of the room with her eyes. Bed, couch, desk with some papers and laptop, and bookcases… Huge amount of books was the second thing that caught the eye.

"Economy, Finance, Marketing, Sociology… just why do you study those things?" asked Akiza looking through titles.

"Well. Seto Kaiba is really more of an employer than father" he sighed "Still I must admit that taking his advices under consideration pays off" Thomas smiled "If I hadn't come to the Academy I wouldn't meet you, you know"

Now Akiza felt she was blushing. Thomas wasn't really the person he seemed to be. Under this mask of emotionless, calculated and cold bastard was a nice guy with sense of humor.

"You know Akiza" said Thomas "Under this unfriendly mask of yours is a really nice girl. You should let her out more often"

After hearing this comment she couldn't even feel her legs. It was as if he read her mind. And knew exactly what she was thinking about him right now.

"I will take it under consideration" mumbled Akiza.

"So, what would you like to do?" asked Thomas "I'm open to any suggestions, since we're having a day off tomorrow"

"Well… I've been thinking…"

"Yes?" encouraged her Thomas

"It's about. I mean… it's just" Akiza was wavering her hands trying to find proper words

"Just spill it out already" said Thomas "It's about your powers, isn't it?

Akiza's eyes widened "You can read minds or something?" asked Akiza unable to hide her astonishment.

"Nope. I can only break necks with my mind" said Thomas with a smirk. "I know it's been bothering you ever since you had this duel with your dad when you were a child, so I figured that if something is bothering you, it's your psychic power"

Akiza nodded. She told Thomas all about her powers. She wanted to throw this burden off. And he was the only person she could talk to.

"It's just that I want to learn how to control my power" whispered Akiza "I don't want to be a monster"

"You're not a monster said Thomas. I'd say you are the victim of your powers as much as anyone" he seemed deep in thought "I wonder… this power seems to be manifesting itself while you duel. So as much as I hate to admit it, dueling might be the only thing to do, in order to do something about this… lack of control.

* * *

"Darn it" sighed Thomas as Akiza's Amaryllis attacked him leaving a nasty cut

"Are you alright?" asked Akiza anxiously

"I'll manage" muttered Thomas. They both were dueling at outside "keep your head in the game Akiza. You wanted to learn how to control your powers, right?"

"But it was your idea to do it by dueling" replied Akiza "I don't want to hurt you"

"Then don't hurt me" muttered Thomas "I believe that was the point. Your psychic powers manifest while you duel. Therefore I think that the only logical conclusion can be achieved by dueling. Unless you have better idea?"

That was the point. She had no idea what to do with her affliction.

"Let's call it a day" said Akiza turning her disc off.

"So you're giving up?" said Thomas "Did Rocky give up when he lost a fight? Did Boromir give up when he got an arrow in the… well… pretty much everything except for the knee"

Akiza gave him a blur look.

"Trust me. For some people that is hilarious" Thomas sighed "Ok. We can call it a day if you wish. Come to think of it, it's about time for a diner in Ra dorm. Come on. I usually don't socialize with others so we can eat at my room. Sounds good? "

"Marvelous" replied Akiza. She just realized that she hadn't had a single bite that day.

* * *

"You know. In Ra Yellow you have awesome food" said Akiza eating up diner with Thomas.

"I'm aware of that" replied Kaiba "That's pretty much the reason I avoid promotion to Obelisk"

"So that wasn't a rumor?" asked Akiza "After beating that last Obelisk you really were given a chance for promotion?"

"Indeed" said Thomas "But I hate those morons from Obelisk, so I denied. I'm here to learn more about dueling, not to go pro. What about you?"

"Well, my parents sent me here hoping that I will learn how to control my powers. And I was hoping I can start a new life here." Akiza sighed. That last part didn't go according to plan.

"Everything will be alright. You just have to make that your objective and strive to fulfill it. Like I decided to swipe the floor with Princeton" Thomas gave her a smile and she couldn't resist to smile back.

And then everything went black.

"What's going on?" cried Akiza "What is this dark fog?"

"I have no idea" replied Thomas. Suddenly he felt as if he was no longer in his room. "Where are you Akiza?"

There was no answer.


	8. The Endurance Deck

„What on earth is going on?" wondered Thomas walking through the dense darkness surrounding him. Where was he and what happened? And what happened with Akiza? That was unexpected. One second he is enjoying diner and conversation with Akiza and now he was in a middle of nowhere, all alone. That was… inconvenient.

"Thomas! Thomas, where are you?!" shouted Akiza. There was no one there. She was all alone here. And she had no idea where "here" was. She was with Thomas in his room a while ago. And now she was surrounded by darkness. Not good.

"What happened?" wondered Akiza and then she heard a voice

"I can answer this question for you little girl"

Suddenly Thomas heard a scream. A familiar voice.

"Akiza!" shouted Thomas and rushed towards to the source of this scream. Dark fog was getting denser and dense. Soon he couldn't see much, not to mention this silence. Silence before the storm.

As Thomas found himself surrounded by shadows he felt something... illusive. "Fine" he said to the surrounding darkness "show yourself. I know when someone is watching me"

"I see you have inherited your father's... appearance, Kaiba-boy"

"And I see that I don't see you. Show yourself or beat it!" replied Thomas with a bit of anger in his voice.

"My, my. You have sense of humor my young friend. You are not the same as Seto Kaiba after all"

"That's where you're wrong pal. He bought sense of humor too" responded Thomas. "Though mine was made of high quality materials. And it's stainless"

"I see you are eager to meet your doom, aren't you?" asked the shadow

"Not at all. I'm eager to meet the one I will send to the his doom!" now Thomas lost his patience "Enough of this game! I left my iron turned on"

"If you insist" from the shadows emerged a tall figure and behind him...

"How very original" said Thomas sarcastically "A tall guy in a dark robe with the hood, taking a hostage to spice up a shadow game". He clenched his fists so tight that they paled "And you had to choose Akiza. My, my. Am I impressed or what?" His eyes blazed with bloodlust "I will enjoy sending you away to shadows" This wasn't a threat. It was a promise.

"Before we begin you should know that the stakes are high. You will feel the real damage, however when you lose life points your beloved friend will be devoured by shadows. A painful piece by piece"

"I see. Every point below 4000 is a part of Akiza torn by shadows. Is that right?" Thomas had a small smile across his face.

"Indeed my little friend" responded shadow duelist.

"No big deal" said Thomas replacing his usual deck with another one "not tested it yet, but this is as good time as any"

Akiza moved tied by shadowy strings and cried "Thomas. Don't worry about me! You have to win this duel. I will be ok. Just win."

"You're serious?" replied Thomas "Not worrying about you means not worrying about life points. And when those reach 0 we both go to the shadows" he shook his head "Not letting it happen. I will win and I will protect you!"

"Thomas..." Akiza didn't know how to respond. Even if logical, his statement was... very... cute.

"Ok lovebirds" interrupted Shadow "this is it. My draw! I summon Mirage Dragon in attack mode, next I sacrifice it to special summon Red-eyes darkness metal dragon. Now I will use its special ability to bring back my Mirage Dragon. Then I play one card face-down"

"If it isn't familiar..." said Thomas with boredom in his voice "I draw. Then I place four cards face-down and summon masked knight level third" he grinned "This little tin-head can deliver 400 points of damage each turn." Shadow yelled as the blast took his life points away. "Last, not least I activate Card of Sanctity. Now we draw until we hold sic cards" as Thomas drew his cards he smiled again "What do you know... I reveal two Golden Ladybugs in my hand. This grants me 1000 life points. I think that will do. For now"

His last words sounded like a hammer crushing human skull. Thomas meant business this time. He wasn't really playing a game. His objective was now to destroy his opponent.

"Impressive, but it will take more than that" shadow drew a card " I summon Red-eyes black chick, next I sacrefice it to summon red-eyes black Dragon. And I will use my Darkness dragon special abbility to summon Hyozanryu The Diamond Dragon. Now attack..."

"Before the battle phase...Trap. Activate. Gravity Bind. You can't attack" recited Thomas unwillingly. Seeing his enemy fueled with anger. His Mirage Dragon disables trap activation only during battle phase. There will be no battle phase now!

"And I activate my face down card. Mystical space Typhoon!" replied Shadow. "Chain!" said Thomas "Magic Jammer. By sending one card from my hand I can negate your spell. I send Marie the Fallen One to the grave" Magic Jammer obliterated Shadow's spell who grunted "Bah! I set two cards face down and end my..."

Thomas interrupted him "Not so fast! Before you do that I will activate my trap Solemn Wishes" the satisfaction was glittering in his eyes.

"Then allow me. By drawing a card I gain 500 life points from Solemn Wishes. Then another 200 comes from Marie the Fallen one. And Finally 1000 from my Ladybugs" Thomas life points reached 6700. "and now my masked knight evolution will occur. Masked knight lv. 5 will now give you a big bad 1000 points of direct damage" Shadow faltered as his points reached 2600.

"And now to make my move..." said Thomas I will summon cure mermaid from my hand and place additional card face down, Your turn. Make it count"

Akiza was watching from her shadowy chains. Thomas' deck was obviously based on cards boosting his life points and dealing damage without battle. He wanted to avoid possibility of letting her to get hurt...

"My move" cried Shadow "I play offering to the Doomed. With it I will destroy your Masked Knight, however my next draw phase will be skipped"

"Oh no! Whatever will I do without my masked knight?" mocked Thomas "that card is a mere distraction after all"

"Then let's see how you like this!" yelled shadow "I activate inferno fire blast! You will now recive damage equal to my Red-eyes Black Dragon attack points!" As the Red-eyes Dragon laid his attack, Thomas simply shielded himself with his duel disc, which absorbed damage. Thomas' lifepoints reached 9100.

"How?" cried Shadow

"Energy-absorbing Monolith trap card. That's how! This trap negates damage that your spell would have inflicted and increases my points by that amount. Don't feel bad" said Thomas with smile "It's only your soul hanging in balance and you're losing".

"I end my turn" barked Shadow

"Next to me then" said Thomas "I receive 2500 points from my Ladybugs, Cure Mermaid, Marie the Fallen one and Solemn wishes" his points reached grant amount of 11600 "Next I will summon another Cure Mermaid from my hand and place two cards face-down. That will do"

"I can't draw card this turn, so I will simply skip it" grunted Shadow

"That's a surprise!" said Thomas "then it's my turn and I receive 3200 points to the grant total of 14800! Next I summon Assault Mercenary in attack mode. And that's it".

Thomas smiled in a very disturbing way.

"I have almost 15000 points. And you have already fallen behind. This is the power of my endurance deck!" shouted Kaiba " You can't get close to my points which essentially means you can't win. And soon you will have no card to defend what's left of your life points"


	9. Red-eyes barrage!

Shadow considered his situation carefully. He had 2600 points while Thomas had almost 15000! On the other hand he had no monster to defend those points, while Shadow had a Vast army of dragons on his side of the field. Only one problem remained. Gravity bind. That card render his monster useless. He had to eliminate it from the field at all costs, but his opponent seemed to know the importance of the card and would protect it without doubt. He had to play this right!

"I draw" said Shadow and his eyes widened "I activate harpy feather duster in order to destroy all magic and trap cards on your side of the field!"

"For some reason I had a feeling you would try that, which is why I have my Imperial Order ready to play" replied Thomas "Your tactics are easy to read. If that's the best you Shadow Disciples have to offer, then give up and spare yourself a shame"

Shadow couldn't believe it. Perfect spell card failed in this situation! Thomas just activated trap that rendered all the spell cards useless. This couldn't be.

"I end my turn" shadow was shaking with anger. There was nothing he could do. Thomas had card ready for anything. And it was his turn now.

"Let the fun continue" said Thomas "I pay 700 of my life points to keep imperial order in play" his face twisted in pain for a moment as he felt his life energy drained away... it was real damage he was taking...

"Then... I get 3200 points from my assets. That will be like...17300? I don't know if I can keep up with counting that. I will place one monster face-down and call it a turn, so anyway Akiza, how did you end up like this? I take it he didn't defeated you in a duel, right? He can't even duel his way through my traps and you did it twice during our first match".

"Thomas, keep your head in the game, please" said Akiza watching the duel. Life points reaching 20000 and completely blocked opponent. No wonders Thomas tore her strategies apart last time. He had some nasty tricks to counter almost everything. "And no. He didn't beat me in a duel. He took me by surprise in order to force you to duel him"

"He wanted to duel me?" Thomas faked surprise "wouldn't it be much simpler just to kill yourself?" the question just turned Shadow on

"My draw!" he cried out loud "I activate Graceful Charity. With it I will draw three cards and then discard two. Next I place two cards face-down, Make your move, if you dare" that sounded confident. To confident in fact. Better gather some powerful combination. Just in case...

"It will be my pleasure" replied Thomas drawing a card.

"Now you will pay for your insolence" shouted Shadow activating his face down. "My Royal Decree will render all your trap cards useless" And with your Imperial Order you can't use spells, unless you don't want me to activate mine"

"Wow" responded Thomas whose life points increased by another 2100 "I really didn't see that one coming" he sighed "now you force my hand. I sacrifice my Assault Mercenary to summon Gigaplant. Now since my Assault Mercenary is in Graveyard I activate his special ability, by returning this card to my deck I can Destroy one spell or trap you control. And guess what it is"

Thomas smiled as Royal Decree was destroyed.

"I flip summon my Spear Cretin, activating it's special ability. Now whenever this little guy hits the Graveyard, I'm allowed to summon any monster from my Graveyard either in attack position, or face-down defense position. Now I activate my trap Altar For Tribute. It allows me to destroy any monster on my field and gain it's attack points as life boost" He discarded Spear Cretin "I guess you know what's coming next. I special summon my Masked Knight lv. 5. In attack mode. I also switch my Mermaids to defense mode. You better do something fast "Said Thomas pointing at his life point score 19900 points was more than intimidating.

Another perfect opportunity! He did it again! How could he read his moves?

"I draw" Shadow was now in panic "I play Tribute to the doomed. I send one card from my hand to the grave in order to destroy your Masked Knight!"

As masked Knight was sent to the graveyard Thomas smiled

"And I thought I'm the one in defense mode here"

"Shut up" yelled Shadow "Just make your move"

"Fine, I draw" His points increased by another 2600 "Now i will summon skull-mark ladybug from my hand. Next I will activate my Altar For Tribute trap. This trap destroys my ladybug granting me 500 points. Now whenever skull-mark ladybug is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard I receive another 1000 points. Next I activate my Gigaplant special ability to re-summon my ladybug from the grave. And Again I destroy it with my trap. 25500 points. Wow, that's more than you have!"

Where is it? Wondered Thomas. He obviously couldn't finish his opponent off with masked knight and he couldn't even bring his back for more than one turn. He couldn't fight his dragons head on either. He could only improve his score until all the cards he needed were in his hand. He had to force this Shadow to use up his entire hand and all cards in his spell and trap zone. But still... it wasn't that bad. Not a single strike from Shadow, only unpleasant feeling while sacrificing his points to keep imperial order on the field. Akiza was safe. Everything was going according to plan. Only one thing made him feel uneasy. The one card his opponent could have...

"My turn" said Shadow "I place two cards face down. That's all"

Shadow was building up a combination that just could work. Four dragons on his field. And some of them already in his graveyard. That could work.

"My turn" said Thomas "and the usual stuff like gaining points. Last I place a card face-down and a monster face-down"

"Now I draw" Yelled shadow "I activate my trap Dust Tornado to destroy your Imperial order. Next I play Painful choice. I pick 5 cards and you will choose the one that stays in my hand" Which one, hero?

"Let it be Red-eyes Black Dragon" said Thomas

"Most excellent choice. Four remaining dragons will go to the graveyard. Now I summon my Masked Dragon to trigger my trap, Torrential Tribute. All monsters on the field are now destroyed"

Thomas watched as his line of defense was scrambled.

"Now the true fun can begin. I activate my Masked Dragon ability. When it's destroyed I'm allowed to summon level three or below dragon, so come forth Red- eyes Black Chick. Now I sacrifice it to summon it's daddy, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, but wait! I'm not done, I sacrifice it to summon Red-eyes Darkness Dragon. Next i activate my trap, call of the haunted. It allows me to summon Red-eyes Darkness Metal Dragon from my graveyard. Now I use its special ability to summon from my hand another Red-eyes Black Dragon, and again it's sacrificed to summon second Red-eyes Darkness Dragon in its place. Their power is fueled by the burning ashes of my former Dragons. For every dragon in my grave, Red-eyes Darkness Dragon gains 300 points. That gives me one monster with 2800 attack points and two with 6300. I now play my face-down card. Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Gravity Bind, but I'm not done. I equip one of my Red-eyes Darkness Dragons with megamorph to double its attack points.

"It's over 9000?" mocked Thomas "That's not enough to beat me"

"Will see" whispered Shadow "Now attack him directly!"

All the Dragons attack Thomas Dealing him altogether 21700 points of damage. It was hard to describe this pain. He felt as if his body was torn apart and his very soul was turned into ashes. The power of this attack threw him against a shadowy wall and continued. When it finally ceased Thomas felt onto his knees.

"Thomas!" Yelled Akiza seeing her friend down. And then she felt as if her arm was burned. She realized that her left arm was fading and it hurt like hell.

"Don't you worry my dear" said Shadow "You experienced mere 200 points of damage while your friend enjoyed almost 22000 of them" Shadow laughed "And to think that for a moment there I was afraid that I will lose to him!"

"I activate a trap" whispered Thomas "Call of the haunted allows me to bring back my Masked Knight in attack mode" He rose with considerable effort and looked his opponent in the eyes "If you know anything about fairy tales you should realize that the Knight vs. Dragon showdown never ends well for the dragons.

And now it is... my turn" he drew a card wavering "My knight reaches level 7 and deals you 1500 points of direct damage" Shadow withstood this and grinned

"is that all you have kid?"

"Nope" muttered Thomas wiping blood from his face "I have my spell Raigeki. It destroys your lizards and allows me to attack you directly with my Knight. Open wide and suck on his sword, you have lost!"

Masked Knight's eyes blazed as he drew it's enormous sword and struck down the Shadow taking away his remaining life points. Shadow was screaming for quite a while as the darkness consumed him. In the same moment Akiza found herself released from her shadowy prison and she noticed her arm didn't disappeared after all. She rushed Towards Thomas who felt right into her arms. He looked her in the eyes and said:"I totally won that duel". Then he lost his consiousness to even things up.

"Like a boss" whispered Akiza.


	10. Feelings revealed

Thomas opened his eyes. There was a light blinding light.

It happened. He died playing card game! How pathetic! But then he started to see shapes as his eyes got used to the bright light. He was at the hospital bed in the duel academy. His arms were heavy as if they were made of lead. But then he felt that something squeezed his hand. He manadged to lift his head to see who it was.

It was Akiza. She was sitting next to his bed, holding his hand. Her eyes and cheeks were red as if she was crying a while ago.

"It's my fault. I'm sorry Thomas" she was whispering

"I'm not sorry" replied Thomas

"Thomas! You're awake" Akiza hugged him as tight as she could.

"Easy there" whined Thomas "you'll kill me this way" He smiled to her "I'm glad you're alright"

"You have no idea how much I feared about you" said Akiza with her hands on his shoulders "That blast was just... I don't know what to say. It's a miracle you survived"

"Perhaps you are right" replied Thomas feeling something... strange... where this warmth filling him was coming from? One way to find out. He took his bandages off his left arm. There were some serious wounds there. And then he touched Akiza's hand, watching as his wounds sealed...

"it would seem that you are this miracle" said Thomas as Akiza saw how her powers helped him to regain strength. Akiza turned to look at him and then she realized something. They were so close now, her fingers intertwined with his and this gaze in his eyes... It seemed natural, the only right thing to do as Akiza pecked Thomas' lips.

"So much for my headache" said Thomas with a friendly smile. Akiza couldn't help it, she laughed.

"Oh" she squealed "That reminds me. I have this for you" She gave him a deck. Thomas looked through it. "Wow" he gasped "You brought it for me?"

"Well... you did earned this one I guess. So I decided that you should have it" They were both speaking about the deck Shadow used to break through Thomas Endurance Deck Strategy. FIlled with dragons and powerful combos... A power deck. With some adjustment It could fry life points with ease.

"Dangerous object in wrong hands" Said Thomas sarcastically waving with the deck "With some room for improvements. I must say that for a moment there I thought that my last stand won't be enough to win. And I'm sorry he managed to harm you"

"Hey" replied Akiza "No harm done. And after all you went through all this to... well... protect me" She realized that Thomas risked his own neck to protect her. He really cared.

"You fall. I catch you" Thomas smiled "Though in this case I felt and you caught me, but you know what I mean"

"Yes, I guess" said Akiza.

"I'm really glad you're ok" said Thomas

"You're really trying to get another Kiss, right?" replied Akiza playfully

"You got me" laughed Thomas "I'm a bad person" he looked so charming when he was smiling. Without hiding his face behind cold emotionless mask with petrifying gaze...

"You know Thomas... sometimes girls like bad guys. Or so I was told" she replied pecking his lips one more time. And then they submitted to their feelings as their lips became one and their tongues started their own dance. Both Akiza and Thomas felt this warm feeling inside...

"What's going on Slacker?"

Akiza yelped as she heard a rigorous voice behind her. She turned around and saw a tall man with short brown hair, wearing a white jacket with a long tail flaring behind. His gaze was even colder than Thomas'.

"It had to be you, father" muttered Thomas "Why do I earn this honor?"

"Because I've heard about you getting wounded during a duel" Seto Kaiba "And I need to know what happened"

"I'm touched" said Thomas "You actually care about your assets. At least those profitable ones"

"What happened?" insisted Seto

"Shadow game, obviously" replied Thomas "I won"

"Leave us young lady" said Seto Kaiba towards Akiza. I need to talk to my son in four eyes. There was something in his voice that render any objections useless.

"I will see you later" whispered Akiza and left the room.

Thomas looked into Seto's eyes and said "Nice timing. I honestly don't know how you managed to do that, but you just had to ruin this moment" young Kaiba sighed "And they say I'm an asshole"

"You're done?" asked Kaiba

"For now" replied Thomas "What do you want to know?"

"Everything" said Seto "I need to know everything about this shadow game, that occurred"

"Let's see…" Thomas was deep in thought considering his respond "I was dueling… myself actually"


	11. Take care of this

„So that's the case?" asked Seto Kaiba

"Yes. Pretty much that's what happened. An evil counterpart. He had my face, however his behavior, tactics, his very deck were just the opposite" Thomas was still thinking about what happened. Now since his mind was clear, he really started to be anxious about that.

"It was pretty much all I hate about others. With my face" Thomas wondered "Something like a mind game. I don't know what to think"

Seto Kaiba sighed "You think that this duel wasn't to win or lose, but to intimidate you and make you doubt yourself by showing you a version of yourself you cannot accept. Is that it?"

"Something like that" replied Thomas "And now since I satisfied your curiosity, it's time to even the scales"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Seto

"Don't play dumb, father" muttered Thomas "Why did you send me to the Duel Academy? Obviously not to horn my skills. My presence here caused this shadow duel. They were after me and used my friend as a bait" Thomas realized that Seto avoided his eyes

"Fine" smirked Thomas "have it your way. I will find out eventually what happened when the Sacred Beasts were released. And I assure you, I will find every connection to recent events"

"I will tell you everything when the time is right" said Seto Kaiba "Too much is at stake here to do reckless things, young man" Kaiba sighed

"What really happened during the Zero-reverse?" asked Thomas watching closely his step-father's reaction. Seto paled. So that's it.

"I told you already" replied Kaiba "When the time is right I will tell you"

"And I told you already, I will find out on my own if you don't want to play along" hissed Thomas

"Besides" interrupted him Seto "That's not why I'm here. I have a job for you".

"I figured as much" Thomas sighed "Well?"

"Since Princeton and Gecko families decided to work together and to create a world-wide conglomerate they are a serious competition for a Kaiba-corp"

"Continue" said Thomas

"As you well know Princeton family wanted to buy Duel Academy for years. Now when Chazz Princeton and Adrian Gecko teamed up they are a threat to Kaiba-corp and this Academy"

"Just don't sell the Academy. End of the line" replied Thomas stretching his arms.

"It's not that simple. I need to prove to the public that Duel Academy should rest in my hands. In other words I need you for a tag team duel against both Gecko and Princeton" announced Seto

"Tag team?" asked Thomas "With who?"

"With me" replied Seto "After all it's about my reputation and my Academy, right?"

"That's the most obnoxious idea I've ever heard" muttered Thomas "You want to prove that they don't deserve to be in charge of the Academy? Make them lose to the students. If I recall correctly Chazz Princeton has a history as a pro. And Geko is in the top of the most famous duelist either. If they lose with mere students, their reputation will crumble. If you beat them in a duel you will prove that your game is better. If you leave that to the students, you will prove that the Academy's slackers are better duelists than professionals. That's what you should aim for"

"Wow" replied Seto "you really learned your lessons, however I don't see any students that can match your skills"

"You just told the one to buzz of" hissed Thomas.

"A Slifer Red girl?!" Seto was shocked "You're out of your mind"

"On the contrary" replied Thomas "She knows my tactics, plus I have this" Thomas showed the Shadow's deck to his foster father "Dangerous object in the wrong hands. Ultimate sword" He smiled "And don't forget that my Endurance Deck is ultimate shield and Akiza knows how I use it. With Akiza using my endurance deck and me with Red-eyes deck, I don't see how we can lose to anybody. Imagine that: Slifer Red girl and a Ra Yellow. Winning against the most renowned duelist in the world. Sounds good?"

Seto Kaiba picked few cards from his pocket

"Sounds good enough for me. If you use these" and handed him cards

"Yes… those will do nicely" said Thomas staring at the cards "In fact I think that this is all this deck needs to be complete"

"Then I leave the rest to you. Don't disappoint me Thomas!" said Seto and left.

"Fine" muttered Thomas "I won't!"

Now then… what to do? Thomas swiped the place with his eyes looking for his uniform. There it was. A perfect Ra Yellow jacket with his name on it. Thomas dressed up.

"It's time to pay a little visit to my friend" said Thomas heading towards the Slifer Red dorm.

* * *

Akiza was lying on her bed thinking about Thomas. They actually kissed! That was strange, but she felt really good when they did it. As he embraced her and they lips connected… It was a moment of perfection. And she couldn't stop thinking about him…

"Who is there?" muttered Akiza hearing knocking. She opened the door and was pecked in the lips by surprise. It was Thomas. She was shocked and her eyes widened, but then she closed them and her arms closed around his neck. They were standing there for a long while kissing. When finally Akiza caught her breath she asked: "What took you so long?"

"Explaining that I can leave the hospital" Thomas smirked "I had to do the line about being owner's son and even then they didn't want to let me go. But here I am Akiza" Thomas smiled "Right now not even warm hospital bed could stop me from paying you a visit. Besides for some reason I have a feeling that you are warmer than hospital bed. You have a fever, or you're just happy to see me?"

"You know, you have a way to make a lady smile" replied Akiza playfully rushing her finger through his hair. "Why don't you come inside?"

* * *

"No!" replied Akiza "No, just no way. Not gonna happen!"

"Why not?"

"I still don't control my powers" said Akiza trying to avoid Thomas eyes "I'm too afraid to duel in front of entire school. What if my powers get out of hand and…"

Thomas grasped her hand and said "As long as we're together it will be okay" he placed his deck in her hand "I know you're afraid. That's why I ask you to use this. My creation"

"Your Endurance Deck?" asked Akiza

"Yes. You see, with the spells and traps you can keep our points safe and I will build up some offence and deal the damage. This way you don't have to be afraid of your powers. What do you think?"

"I… I don't know what to think" Akiza was hesitating. She didn't want to let him down, however she was still afraid of possible results of her power going wild.

"Ok. Fine" replied Thomas trying to calm her down "No pressure. You don't have to do this if you don't want to. It's not like the fate of the Academy is in your hands. I can team up with my father. And the result will be similar. I just thought… well… I'd rather have you on my side. You are… I trust you and I don't know a duelist in this Academy that can duel as good as you"

"I need to think about it" whispered Akiza staring at his endurance deck

"Take your time Akiza. No pressure" Thomas smiled "There is another thing I wanted to ask you. Much more important to me than this Academy issue"

"What is it?" asked Akiza

"Well… words fail me to say it properly… " started Thomas. Akiza could see that he was nervous "Would you like to… well… you, me, girlfriend, boyfriend?"

"Wow" said Akiza "You have a way with words"

"Is that a yes, or try harder?" asked Thomas with a little smile.

"Well… I think it's a yes" replied Akiza

"Yes!" shouted Thomas

"Anything else?" smirked Akiza

"That's all I could ask for" replied Thomas, embracing her…


End file.
